1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to computer software and hardware systems, and more particularly, to content delivery to mobile devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
The ability of educators, including educational institutions, private corporations, and institutions of higher learning, to reach potential students has generally been limited by geography. The advent of networked computers and communications has afforded a partial solution to these limitations. In particular, the widespread use and availability of electronic networks such as the Internet and the World Wide Web have made it possible for educational institutions to overcome geographic dispersion and physical location as a barrier to education by providing institutions with the ability to provide institutional (e.g., instructional) content over the network.
In many instances, mobile devices (e.g., personal digital assistants and cellular telephones) with network connections are capable of accessing the instructional content using built-in network software, such as a mobile web browser. The information these mobile devices access are located on existing or legacy network-based systems that are typically not configured for providing content for mobile viewing. The addition of yet another network-based system that is configured to provide information configured for mobile viewing requires the host or sponsoring institution to incur implementation and maintenance costs associated with the installation, integration, administration, and maintenance of a new network-based system hosting otherwise duplicative information. These costs hinder the widespread use of the mobile medium for educational purposes.
To the extent that institutions do provide instructional content configured for viewing on mobile devices, they have relatively complicated and confusing user interfaces. Users of these mobile devices who require different types of information related to their institution, or require information to supplement a web page they are viewing, are typically required to manually locate a subsequent web page or function from among a large array of potential institutional pages to obtain the information they seek, thereby complicating the user's task of interacting with the system. For example, a student using a mobile device to view information on a class from a class directory on a mobile web page for a university will often be required to manually seek out a separate web page for a campus map, and thereafter manually locate the class on the campus map web page. These complications further hinder the widespread use of the mobile medium for institutional purposes.